Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills
Unhomely homes have been a recurring theme in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, and his debut novel, A Pale View of Hills (1982), is no exception. While previous research has primarily focused on themes such as displacement, alienation, and trauma in the novel, limited attention has been given to exploring t...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
International Islamic University Malaysia
2024
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/1/114794.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848866597204131840 |
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| author | Ling, Xu Awang, Mohammad Ewan Singh, Hardev Kaur Jujar |
| author_facet | Ling, Xu Awang, Mohammad Ewan Singh, Hardev Kaur Jujar |
| author_sort | Ling, Xu |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Unhomely homes have been a recurring theme in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, and his debut novel, A Pale View of Hills (1982), is no exception. While previous research has primarily focused on themes such as displacement, alienation, and trauma in the novel, limited attention has been given to exploring the social-spatial and gendered spatial factors contributing to this sense of homelessness. This paper examines the meanings of home in A Pale View of Hills by drawing upon Blunt’s and Dowling’s concept of home as a spatial imaginary. It argues that the idea of home in the post-war Japanese discourse is actively challenged and reshaped by the female characters in Ishiguro’s novel. This dynamic process encompasses three facets: materially, it includes the destruction of homes, the Westernisation of domestic space, and gendered space and domesticity; imaginatively, it involves long-lasting trauma and repression; and relationally, it signifies the transformation of home from unhomely to a homely one. This paper aims to provide a spatialised and politicised understanding of home in A Pale View of Hills, fostering a more dynamic view of women’s identity construction. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:23:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-114794 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:23:08Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | International Islamic University Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1147942025-01-31T08:36:59Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/ Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills Ling, Xu Awang, Mohammad Ewan Singh, Hardev Kaur Jujar Unhomely homes have been a recurring theme in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels, and his debut novel, A Pale View of Hills (1982), is no exception. While previous research has primarily focused on themes such as displacement, alienation, and trauma in the novel, limited attention has been given to exploring the social-spatial and gendered spatial factors contributing to this sense of homelessness. This paper examines the meanings of home in A Pale View of Hills by drawing upon Blunt’s and Dowling’s concept of home as a spatial imaginary. It argues that the idea of home in the post-war Japanese discourse is actively challenged and reshaped by the female characters in Ishiguro’s novel. This dynamic process encompasses three facets: materially, it includes the destruction of homes, the Westernisation of domestic space, and gendered space and domesticity; imaginatively, it involves long-lasting trauma and repression; and relationally, it signifies the transformation of home from unhomely to a homely one. This paper aims to provide a spatialised and politicised understanding of home in A Pale View of Hills, fostering a more dynamic view of women’s identity construction. International Islamic University Malaysia 2024-06-26 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/1/114794.pdf Ling, Xu and Awang, Mohammad Ewan and Singh, Hardev Kaur Jujar (2024) Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills. Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature, 18 (1). pp. 48-64. ISSN 1985-3106; eISSN: 1985-3106 https://journals.iium.edu.my/asiatic/index.php/ajell/article/view/3211 10.31436/asiatic.v18i1.3211 |
| spellingShingle | Ling, Xu Awang, Mohammad Ewan Singh, Hardev Kaur Jujar Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills |
| title | Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills |
| title_full | Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills |
| title_fullStr | Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills |
| title_full_unstemmed | Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills |
| title_short | Women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in Kazuo Ishiguro’s a pale view of hills |
| title_sort | women’s quest for home: spatial imaginary in kazuo ishiguro’s a pale view of hills |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/114794/1/114794.pdf |